Since the Covid crisis, household savings rates in France and most European countries have risen sharply and remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Europe thus holds a considerable stock of savings, which is particularly high compared to Anglo-Saxon countries, where funded pension systems better encourage long-term investment.

However, these savings remain primarily invested in liquid assets and short-term products, while European companies continue to rely mainly on bank debt for financing. This structure limits their ability to invest, innovate, and take risks. For comparison, the equity of non-financial corporations represents approximately 220% of GDP in the United States, compared to 85% in Europe.

At a time when financing needs are particularly high—to support the energy and digital transitions, as well as to address defense and economic sovereignty challenges—a key question arises: how can we mobilize the long-term savings of European households to finance businesses?

Agenda

08:30 – 09:00 | Coffee reception

Security notice: visual bag checks will be conducted at the entrance.

09:00 – 09:15 | Introduction

Introduction by:

• Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Deputy Governor of the Banque de France
• Marie Brière, Managing Director of the Institut Louis Bachelier
• Grégoire Naacke, European Savings Observatory

09:15 – 09:45 | "Household savings behavior, allocation, and saver profiles"

• Olivier Garnier : Europe suffers not so much from a ‘flight’ of savings as from insufficient allocation to equities.
• Grégoire Naacke : Presentation of the OEE index for measuring the performance of household financial savings.

09:45 – 10:45 | "Effectiveness of tax incentives and other mechanisms for directing savings toward corporate financing"

• Marie Brière : Does Tax Deductibility Increase Retirement Savings.
• Marie-Hélène Broihanne : Digital Influence Strategies in Finance: An Experimental Approach.
• Christian König : Current pension system reforms in Germany.

10:45 – 11:15 | "Corporate financing needs"

• Abel Gonzales-Hishinuma : Founder Factories: The Origins of High-Growth Startups.
• Dominique Leblanc and Gérard Rameix : Recent dynamics and transformations in market financing in France and internationally.
• Dorothée Rouzet, Chief Economist at the Directorate General of the Treasury.

11:15 – 11:30 | Coffee break

11:30 – 11:45 | Presentation of the recommendations from the Jacques Delors Institute working group on the Savings and Investment Union (SIU)

By Fabrizio Pagani, Jacques Delors Institute.

11:45 AM – 12:15 PM | Q&A

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM | Roundtable — "Savings and Investment Union: What levers are needed to scale up?"

• Fabrice Demarigny, Partner at Forvis Mazars and Chairman of ECMI, moderator
• Delphine d’Amarzit, CEO of Euronext Paris
• Sophie Barbier, Head of the Europe Division at Caisse des Dépôts
• Marc Lefevre, President of Place des Investisseurs
• Sébastien Raspiller, Secretary General of the AMF

1:00 PM | Closing remarks

• Bertrand Dumont, Director General of the Treasury

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